Midyear Update: Worldwide Golf Course Development

New course development is up fairly significantly, but midyear course closures continue to outpace openings. Here is some added context on the “why” behind inevitable course shutdowns in the U.S. market.

When tracking the beginner to Committed golfer pathway, many of the things that predict successful “conversion” are relatively low incidence. Why is this?

For the second straight month, play was relatively flat in May on a national level. Rounds continue to run slightly ahead of last year’s record pace heading into the peak months of the golf season.

NGF’s annual update on off-course golf retail store supply in the U.S. through 2023 tracks the changes in the number of doors and square footage of regional/independent and national retailers.

The recent positive momentum in the world of female golf participation hasn’t just been pandemic-fueled. The overall participant pool — when factoring both on- and off-course forms of the game — has risen 85% over the past decade, with nearly 15 million women and girls now playing golf in one of its increasingly various forms.

After a significant increase in March rounds, April play was relatively flat on a national level compared to 2023 as several golf-rich regions of the country saw slight dips that are likely attributable to weather.